Crash Bandicoot: To Defy A Goddess
by Spartan-301
Summary: Dr. Neo Cortex discovers a young girl with extraordinary abilities, but she will never turn to his side. She must find her way back to where she belongs, or suffer for an eternity. A story of trust, friendship, and loyalty.
1. Chapters 1 through 7

Crash Bandicoot:

_To Defy a Goddess_

A Crash Bandicoot Fanfiction by ErisNik

SECTION I: Revenge is Vowed

Chapter I

Midnight. Long has it been depicted as the hour of evil, of all things dark. But nothing was as dark as the soul of Dr. Neo Cortex. Yes, an evil man was he. He stood at the balcony of his castle, his domain, watching. Watching the dark sky, like a predator watches its prey. He surveyed the beautiful islands of N. Sanity Isle from this tower in the heavens. Beautiful, and fragile.

So easy would it be to take over this magnificent vista, too easy, in fact. Cortex did not have his mind on conquering the archipelago. He was out to conquer the world.

For too long he had been the target of ridicule among his fellow scientists. He would make them pay.

Of course, that would have been done long ago, had it not been for the single entity that stood in his way.

Long ago he had created the Evolve-o-ray, an incredible device that sped up the evolution process. But his very own test subject, a mere Eastern Barred Bandicoot, had turned on him.

Crash, the subject's name, apparently, was one of his first experiments. After being evolved in the Evolve-o-ray, he was to have his mind wiped of all memories in the Cortex Vortex, and be turned into a leader. A leader that would have been the commander of a great army of super animals, had fate been with him.

The Cortex Vortex malfunctioned, and Crash ran amuck. The subject escaped, and long after, came back for his love interest, Tawna Bandicoot, Cortex's first female test subject.

The infernal bandicoot destroyed half his lab, not to mention his pride. Cortex tried several times afterward to rid himself of this pest, but to no avail. Crash succeeded in thwarting his plans every time, even with the help of Uka Uka, the great witch doctor.

Every attempt, a failure. Even his greatest weapon, a super-powered bandicoot named Crunch, switched sides, making an even more powerful enemy.

This time would be different. There was another. Another person, who could be turned. It was said that this person possessed power greater than anything ever imagined. That it was even greater than that of Uka Uka and his twin brother, Aku Aku put together. This power would soon be his.

A golden spark streaked across the sky. The sound broke the gloomy silence of the night. A ship, not one of this planet, fell from the heavens like a falling star. A tail of fire followed it. Another sound, a somewhat human one at that, soon followed. It was a scream.

A scream of a female.

The ship soon crashed on the darkest island in the small archipelago. Cortex's island, to be precise. It came in fast, the sound only getting louder as it fell. With a loud _BANG! _it crashed into the base of Cortex's castle, and laid there, a smoldering ruin. A wave of concern crossed the scientist's face.

He turned to his assistant, doctor N. Gin. He was a short, almost undead looking man. Depressed, insane, it was not known if these were his qualities. He kept to himself, mostly. But it is well known that he is a very tortured soul. In an unfortunate incident, a small rocket had hit him in the head, but it was reconstructed to be a life-support system. The injuries he suffered had no doubt effected him mentally. It is sometimes said that the rocket was still live, although not very likely.

Cortex looked down from the balcony again. The fire on the small craft had ceased. He turned again to N. Gin. "Make sure the contents of that craft are unharmed," He said. "I want her alive." N. Gin ran towards a narrow corridor and ran down a flight of stairs. Cortex turned to the balcony again to see his minions dragging an almost lifeless body out of the ship. For once in his entire life, Cortex felt a moment of joy.

Chapter II

N. Gin stared at the body that lied on the ground. It was a beautiful, yet somewhat frightening figure. It was clearly a female. She had short black hair; her skin's color just the same. She wore black clothing, which made her almost invisible in the dark night.

But her eyes, they were different. They were red, so bright she almost looked supernatural. Curled around this motionless body was a crimson reptilian tail.

Pinstripe, a rodent-like animal who was evolved by Cortex earlier, seemed to be getting impatient with the dumbfounded N. Gin. "I don't know about you, but I'm freezin' my tail off. Let's just drag this chick upstairs and do what the boss says." He raised an eyebrow at the scientist. "Or did you have a better idea?"

N. Gin seemed to be in a trance. Pinstripe smacked him on the side of his head. "Hey, cheesecake! What, yous never seen a lady before? Come on!" N. Gin finally snapped out of it. "Hey! Watch the rocket!" He said, rubbing the spot on his head. "Alright, let's do what the boss says! Get her out of here." Several other mutations of Cortex's dragged the body into the gloomy castle. "One of these days…" Pinstripe muttered under his breath.

The corridors of the castle were anything but cheerful. They were dank, dimly lit, and far too narrow. Long talons of darkness reached out to seize anyone who dared venture into the void. Yet, for N. Gin they seemed like home. The steady click-clacking sound of armored beasts echoed through the halls. The reached a large room that had been designated as a makeshift prison. The mutated animals carelessly through the female into a cell, and the sound of the bars slamming shut echoed through the chamber.

Cortex walked in to see N. Gin, still staring at the motionless young woman. Annoyed, he shoved him to the side so he could get a clear view.

The female was no longer unconscious. She slowly rose, and turned around to see her captors. She scowled. "What do you want? Why have you imprisoned me?" Cortex chuckled. "Oh, don't play dumb with me," He said. " I know the great power you possess." The female tried to look perplexed. "What power? I don't know what you're talking about." Cortex grew angry. "You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about. You have great abilities, and I implore you," He stared right into the deep red eyes of the young woman. "Join me." She looked outright confused. "What?!" "Together we can rule the Earth, side by side." Cortex ventured. "We shall crush those who get in our way! What do you say?" "Never!!" The woman struck the bars of her prison and dented them slightly. Cortex cursed softly, then walked out of the prison. N. Gin soon followed.

"Prepare the Cortex Vortex." He ordered. "She will join us, whether she likes it or not."

Chapter III

The young woman sat alone in the dank prison cell, trying to assess the situation. This man wanted her because she had something. What, however, was something she didn't know. Where was she? Why was she here? What had she had done to deserve this? Questions continued to scream through her head. She couldn't even remember her own name. Her head ached badly, it felt like getting a steel bar drilled through it.

The door opened. She had to allow herself to be dragged away by the hideous guards. She quickly formulated a plan, because she knew whatever happened next couldn't be good.

Soon she found herself in a large room populated by computer panels and wires. In the center was a huge sphere-like object. She had to get out of here, no matter what the cost. She closed her eyes. If she did have some power, she needed it now more then ever. She felt an ambient feeling course through her body. She looked at her tail. It turned charcoal black. A pang of fear went up her spine when she realized she was being strapped into a chair just below the evil-looking apparatus. A low hum emitted from the machine, the chair slowly rose, and she soon found herself inside the demonic contraption. Lights flashed, and she suddenly felt extreme pain. She felt like something was being taken away from her, like her soul. She resisted this feeling, screaming and struggling with every bit of her free will. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain stopped. The chair lowered, and all she could see was the same room, but with a very angry-looking Dr. Cortex in it. Besides him, everyone else seemed to be shocked. Faces in the dark room stared with mouths wide open at her. Two mutations unstrapped her and dragged her weak body towards Cortex. He looked even more infuriated.

Cortex's eyes narrowed at the sight. The young woman's skin had turned into fur, and large pointed ears sprouted from her hair. Her long, red tail had shortened into a small, furry one. Her nose was somewhat pointed, and lighter fur covered her muzzle and belly. Cortex cursed to himself. He had wanted a great ally to destroy that infernal Crash. And what did he get? The very marsupial that haunted him in his dreams. A bandicoot.

Cortex cursed again. "Didn't I tell you to clean out the DNA container?" He asked N. Gin angrily. N. Gin's left eye twitched slightly. "M-my apologies, Dr. Cortex." He stammered. "But, may I assure you, this is only a minor setback-" "Minor setback?!" Cortex bellowed. "She's a freaking bandicoot!" His hands balled into a fist. "Maybe we can make the best of this. Prepare the Evolve-o-ray." He ordered. The two mutants carried the bandicootess out of the room. "We aren't beaten yet," Cortex muttered. He followed them into another chamber.

Chapter IV

The young female felt weak. Although she had averted one fate, she was sure she was about to suffer another. As she was dragged into another room, she felt her arms. They were covered in warm, gray fur. She checked her head, and discovered pointy ears had formed there. She felt her body- it was also covered in fur. As she ran her hand across her her spine she found a small, fluffy tail in the place of her red arrowheaded one. She felt like screaming, running away. It would be useless, she thought. This place was huge, and no doubt this "Cortex" man had reinforcements.

Another large machine loomed ahead of her. This one looked more like a giant gun, and it pointed straight at a chair. Of course, she was to sit in that chair. Now she needed whatever power she had, now.

She suddenly realized that the guards weren't holding her anymore. Everyone backed away from her. Cortex was hiding behind a computer console. N. Gin and several others had ran out of the room screaming. A group of tall men hefting guns ran into the room, and pointed them at her.

The room seemed a lot smaller then it was when she entered. She soon found out that the room hadn't shrunk, she had gotten bigger. _Much_ bigger. She looked at her hands again. Now they were long, and had huge claws. Her tail was long, black, and covered with scales, like the rest of her body. Huge, graceful wings had grown on her back.

The tall men in white lab coats fired their weapons. She shrieked, and waited to die. Death didn't come, only a slight tingling sensation did. She then noticed the men had dropped their weapons and ran. This transformation was just what she needed.

She ran through corridors, sometimes punching her way through walls as necessary. She plowed through groups of lab coat wearing, pistol bearing men, who usually jumped out of the way just in time.

Soon she came to balcony at the top of the castle. She realized too late that this was the last place she wanted to be. Now she was trapped.

She peered down from the balcony and quickly looked away. It was hundreds of miles above ground; she could never survive something like that. Then again, she had been shot a few times and didn't feel a thing. A drop like that might make her unconscious. She might not even survive, but then again-

She backed away from the edge. It was now or never. Fight or flight. She had no other alternatives, none that she could think of, that is. She backed away further. Unfortunately, she didn't see where she was going. Her tail swiped a large collection of crates loaded with Nitro, a highly explosive substance. A huge green explosion rocked the top of the castle, and the dragon-like female found herself in great pain, and in the air. Her watering eyes slowly opened, and she saw the castle far behind her. Another, peaceful-looking island loomed ahead of her. She realized that she was coming in too fast, _much _too fast. She spread her arms and legs out to try to slow herself down, but it did not help very much. She remembered she had wings, and tried to spread them out. It was too late. She crashed into a jungle canopy, and knocked down several trees before she finally came into a clearing and crashed into the soft ground.

SECTION II: A New Friend is Discovered

Chapter V

It was nighttime inside Crash Bandicoot's hut. His little sister Coco was typing away on her laptop, while Crunch, his adopted big brother, was weight lifting in another room. Crash himself was sleeping, of course. Sleeping, until a loud crash echoed through the hut. Aku Aku, the peaceful witch doctor that watched over the bandicoots, appeared. "What was that?" He asked. Crash was not much of a talker, but he expressed himself in a series of unintelligible babbles. "Gah?" He said, which might have meant, "I concur! What was that?" A loud metallic clang was heard in the other room, and Crunch appeared. "What's with your gibber-gabber, little brother? You hear something?" Crash continued to make nonsensical noises. Coco set down her laptop and peered out the window. A large black figure had landed and made a large trench in front of their hut. She grabbed a lantern and headed outside. The others soon followed. Coco brought her laptop with her, and set it down near the crash site of the whatever-it-was. "Analyzing." She said. "It's a life form, and by the looks of this trench, it came..." Data scrolled across her laptop. "There," She said, pointing to a castle in the distance. "it must have come from Cortex's island." "Do you think it's dangerous?" Aku Aku inquired. "Negative," Coco replied. "It bears no Cortex insignia, so it was either a reject, or much more likely, it escaped." Crash scratched his head curiously. Coco stroked this strange beast's scales. They covered a long, graceful body. It had a long neck, huge, powerful wings, and a arrowheaded tail. She withdrew her hand; it was covered in bright red blood. "Crash, get me some bandages and a damp cloth." She ordered. "Keeba gee!" Crash said, which probably meant, "You got it!"

The creature breathed heavily. It was clearly in great pain. It's head turned toward Coco. It moaned softly, like a plea for help. She stroked its neck to try to calm it. "Don't worry." She said softly. "We'll take care of you." The beast lay its head down slowly. It's wings flapped slightly, like it was trying to fly in slow motion. Crash arrived with a few bandages and a damp towel. He gave them to Coco and sat near the creature's head. It looked up and made what looked like a smile. Crash smiled back. Coco gently wiped the wounds of the great creature. "This may hurt a little," she said. If it was feeling pain, it didn't show it very much. It just laid there, softly moaning now and then. "Where did you come from?" She asked. The beast craned it's head skyward, pointing to the stars. Crash cocked his head inquisitively. "Gabba woo?" He asked, which may have meant, "What does it mean?" "She probably doesn't remember," Coco said. "'She?'" Crunch asked. "How do you know it's a she?" "I can tell." She replied simply.

Coco draped a blanket over the reptilian creature and went inside with the others. She stopped at the doorway of the hut to look back at the strange beast. It had fallen aseep, or fainted, she couldn't tell. She closed the door and turned out the lights.

Chapter VI

It was the middle of the night. Only a single creature was still awake. The female that was now conscious looked toward midnight sky.

She tried to remember what happened, and why she was here. It hurt to think.

First things first, who was she? What was her name? She thought through the night, trying to recall. Her name. What was it? Her head ached badly. What did it begin with? An "e". Yes, it was all coming back to her now.

What was the next letter? She tried to think. The calm sounds of the nighttime wind soothed her aching body.

Eris. That had to be it.

She finally could remember her own name. Her memories flooded back to her like she was rising from the dead.

Where did she come from? She remembered a man, an evil man. He had tortured her, and did something to her. She had been launched into the sky by an explosion and had landed-

Here. Where was "here"? She looked around. It was a jungle, peaceful and serene. Scanning the horizon, she saw the castle where she was being held- and a large hole on the top where she had escaped.

She tried to get up, but found her body crippled. She felt her wounds. They had been bandaged, but by who?

Was there someone here who didn't want to harm her? She tried to remember, but she felt like a small child trying to read; it was difficult and hard to understand.

There was a girl, one who was possibly the same age as she. She remembered vaguely that there were others too. She looked at the small hut in front of her. Her vision felt clearer, like she was seeing in the dark. She realized that she _was _seeing in the dark, for the moon still hung high in the sky, meaning it was still night.

Then it all came to her. She was not born here. She was born on another planet, light-years away. Aura, they called it. Arid, hot, and desolate could describe it. But she remembered being raised there, and they were the happiest days of her life.

But it all had been taken away from her. An invading alien force wiped the planet clean of all life- except her.

Why? Why did she need to survive? A dropship had transported her and a few other Aurians to safety, but for what? To be killed in some other war with the alien juggernaut? That was no way to die. But she should've died with them. She realized that if they were all dead, she was alone.

The last of her kind.

No. She wouldn't let that happen. She would get off this planet and search the galaxy for them, even if it took the rest of her life, or until death.

That was the second problem: she had no idea what planet she was on. She remembered scouting the planet earlier then she was shot down and then-

Captured. Now she knew what was happening. This "Cortex" guy wanted her because- because what?

The pieces all came together. Aura, her transformation, surviving the hail of bullets, being the last of her kind, and being captured. It all fit in.

She had to get out of here. But with her ship totalled and no other means of transportation she was stranded.

She laid down and went back to sleep. Maybe she could find help in the morning.

That was the last peaceful sleep she ever had.

Chapter VII

Cortex walked up the long, spiral staircase. The walls had been completely scraped away, reveling the night sky and the islands beyond. Far behind him was a squad of mutant creatures lead by Dingodile, another hideous mutation created by Cortex. Half dingo, half crocodile, he was menacing no matter how you looked at him. He warily followed his master farther through the wrecked staircase.

At the very top of the tower a cold night breeze whipped through the stone walls. There were wrecked pieces of machinery, scarred stone where Nitro crates had detonated, and possibly the most noticeable change in the tower, the humongous hole on the side wall.

Cortex walked towards the hole and looked down onto the precarious height. The hole's edges were still smoking from the explosion. Far off into the distance, though somewhat unnoticeable, was a small hole in the jungle canopy. What bothered Cortex the most was the location of the hole. And the island it was on.

Cortex's hands balled into a fist, but he calmed himself down. He turned to Dingodile and said, "Prepare the airship. Tomorrow we will give our friends a little... 'visit'" "Yes, sir." Dingodile replied, and ran back down the stairs.

The doctor looked to the sky again. The sun was starting to rise, casting an orange blanket over the landscape.

Orange. He hated that color.

He turned around and followed Dingodile back downstairs.


	2. Chapter 8

Chapter VIII

The orange sun peacefully rose over the island, and a warm breeze whipped through the trees. Crash slept in while Coco started breakfast. She took a quick glance out the window- and did a double take to see the strange beast from last night was no longer there, and only a large impression remained.

She ran out the door of the small hut. The morning sun had just begun to rise, causing Coco to shield her eyes from the glare. She heard a loud sound that was suspiciously like a tree falling over. She spin around to see a large shadow come over the hut, then vanish. Crash followed by Aku Aku and Crunch ran out of the hut, looking quite perplexed.

"What was that?" Aku asked. Coco didn't say anything while Crash started to babble in a frightened manner.

In a flash of black scales, the beast reappeared, standing in an almost casual manner. It stared right at Crash, who jumped behind Crunch in fright. Then it looked at Coco. It almost seemed like it was challenging her. She was not afraid, however. She mustered all her bravery and stepped forward.

"What are you?" She asked. "Where did you come from?" The creature made a soft growl, almost sounding like a sigh. Then it tried to make a more sophisticated attempt at communicating. It tried to speak.

"M-my…" It stuttered, then it cleared it's throat. "My name…" Coco stared in awe and fear. "My name… is… uh…" The creature seemed to be struggling to remember. "Uh…" It scratched its head in an incredibly human-like fashion. It sighed and started again.

"My name, is Eris." It finally said in a strange voice. It sounded female but with a beast-like deep voice. "And who are you?"

Coco was frightened but she remained calm. "My name is Coco," she said. "And this is…" she gestured to the others, encouraging them to introduce themselves. Crunch finally got her drift and spoke up.

"Crunch," He said, although Coco had noticed he had hesitated. Aku Aku finally spoke.

" I am Aku Aku," He said. "Tell me, my friend, how did you get here?" The creature scratched her head again. " I don't exactly remember… " She said, then she stared at the castle in the distance, suddenly looking very angry. " No. I remember."

The entire conversation Crash was hiding behind a tree, watching this strange new creature talk to the others. He listened in as the creature explained her situation. Every so often, he would creep a little closer to listen in on the conversation. After it ended, however, he feared he had gotten a bit to close for his own comfort, as the creature turned around and spied him. She cocked her head in a perplexed manner as Crash ran to hide behind a tree again. Coco smiled at her older brother.

"Don't worry Crash," She said. "She's on our side." Crash warily left the safety of the tree and walked slowly to the intimidating creature. She seemed to smile and asked, "What's your name?"

Crash probably tried to say his name, but all he got out was a series of unintelligible babbles.

Coco giggled and said, "That's my big brother Crash. Don't mind him, he's just a little scared." Eris seemed to smile and lowered her long neck down to his level.

"Hello, Crash," She said, grinning. Crash babbled something in a friendly tone. Coco laughed and said, "He says 'Hi.'"

Suddenly, a loud hum was heard. A large shadow cast itself over the hut while the sound intensified. Crunch scowled as an airship with an all-too-familiar N logo on the side floated into view.

"Aw, nuts!" He said as the blimp floated closer. A familiar voice was heard.


	3. Chapters 9 through 11

Chapter IX

"Surrender yourself to me, you fool!" said the voice. It was a loud, male voice that seemed to almost to be angry somehow, yet still calm. "Don't make us use force!" A second voice joined the first. "Yes, listen to Dr. Cortex!" said a crazed, partially robotic voice. "Obey him, or he will put DOOM IN YOU!" The voice started to cackle like a maniac while the first one interrupted him. "Shut up, you moron! We mustn't show any weakness in front of her!"

"You won't take me alive!" Eris suddenly said. A few seconds of silence pasted by, mostly consisting of a soft argument between the two voices.

"How is this possible?" the first one said. "I thought that transformation had completely robbed her mind of intelligent thought!" the second voice seemed nervous. "Dr. Cortex, I don't think that Cortex Vortex of yours did a very good job of-" "Shut your yap! Can't you see the microphone's still on?!" "Oh, sorry." There was a light click and the air was silent, save for Crash's nervous babbling and Eris's heavy breathing.

Minutes went by like an eternity, then, a platform descended from the underside of the airship. Riding it were horrible mutations wielding odd-looking weapons.

"Capture her!" the voice said. "I want her alive!" the mutations leaped off and made a dead run for the bandicoots and the reptilian creature.

Crash backed away. Coco and Crunch prepared for a fight. The leader of the mutants, who resembled a reptile-like rhino, charged for Crunch. He missed and went charging into a tree.

Crunch laughed and picked up the weapon the creature had been holding. It was a gun of some sorts, although it looked far too sophisticated to be a mere pistol. He aimed it at another creature that was gaining fast on the fleeing Crash. He fired it, and a huge blast of blue flares emitted from the device. The force was so powerful; it knocked Crunch off his feet.

The blue streak on energy seemed to home in on the creature in hot pursuit of Crash. As soon as the shot touched the hideous monster, it froze the creature solid. The mutant stood there, shimmering in the midday sun.

Crunch smirked and walked over to Crash. Crash looked at the frozen mutant curiously.

Crunch chuckled. "Don't worry, little buddy. He isn't going to bother us anymore."

Crash babbled something in agreement.

Meanwhile, Coco was finishing off the last of the mutants, who had become quite disorganized without their leader. The dragon however, was nowhere in sight. The bandicoots looked around to see her in a huge cage. They couldn't tell if she was unconscious or dead, but all they could tell was that the fight had only been a distraction. The cage lifted and disappeared into the huge mass of machinery that made up Cortex's airship. It floated away, an evil voice cackling the entire time. The bandicoot family looked at each other in dismay. For the first time ever, Crash felt that Cortex had finally gotten a victory.

They had lost.

SECTION III: Friend or Foe?

Chapter X

Cortex laughed evilly with N. Gin. For once, things had went his way. He got what he wanted. He had won the battle. Now he had to win the war.

He walked over to the cage that was nearly twenty feet high. A little big, but it had done the job. Inside the dragon was struggling to regain strength. It screeched loudly as Cortex's assistants continued to shock it with various weapons. He raised his hand, and the torturing ceased.

He walked over and inspected the creature. She weakly lifted her head and glared at him her fiery red eyes. He shifted uneasily as the creature seemed to smile at him. There was a sudden crash, then one of his mutations went flying across the interior of the ship. He swiftly dodged as a huge black tail nearly hit him in the head.

"Tie her down!" He screamed as a few more of his minions flew across the room with blinding speed.

N. Gin approached him after the dragon was tied down to the bars of the cage.

"Dr. Cortex, are you sure your new idea will work?" He asked. Cortex glared at him, but remained silent. As the creature struggled once more, he turned to N. Gin, his eyes narrowing.

"N. Gin, if she will not be our ally, then we will prevent her from becoming our enemy. If I cannot get her to destroy Crash Bandicoot, she will terminated. Do you understand?"

N. Gin nervously glanced at the dragon, who had broken one of the chains that tied her down.

"I understand, Dr. Cortex." He said, reluctantly. "Good." Cortex replied.

Much later the airship landed on Cortex Island again, but much sooner then expected. As the dragon in the cage was lowered from the airship, she spied Cortex and N. Gin arguing.

"What do you mean we just ran out of gas?!" Cortex screamed. His only reply was a series of nervous stutters from N. Gin. Cortex responded to this with a hard whack to N. Gin's missile. N. Gin screamed a little, then... giggled like a maniac.

"THANK YOU MASTER! I NEEDED THAT!" N. Gin rubbed his head for a few seconds. Cortex scoffed.

"It appears we are going to be walking to the castle now." He said, angrily. "This is all your fault. Order the mutants to pull the cage while I look around for supplies. It's about an hour to the castle from here."

"Yes, Dr. Cortex!"

It was actually a much longer walk to the castle then it seemed. There were no jungles, no mountains. Just huge prairies. Peaceful, and almost serene. But at night, it was a different story.

When nightfall came, the prairie was like a different world. Thunder storms came and made the eternal darkness even worse with their huge thunderclaps that seemed to get closer with every strike. And when the thunder wasn't there, the world was a black void with no escape. For once, Cortex actually felt afraid on the one island he called home. Between the darkness of the night, the rage of the storm, and the danger he put himself in by being near the dragon that would rather die then join him, he was alone.

After about five hours traveling in the dark, Cortex and his minions finally reached Cortex Castle. His minions dragged the cage into the huge gates of his fortress. The dragon was transported into the deep caverns of his underground lab. It was even darker then the surface, and was only lit by a few torches. However, deeper inside it contradicted the primitive facade of the castle. There were entire caverns of machinery-filled walls. Wires were everywhere. Various animals were being mutated into more minions for the twisted scientist who owned this lab.

Cortex's minions moved the cage to a pair of obscenely large doors that were noticeably different from the rest of them. They were plated with what seemed to be titanium, and overall looked as if it were made to withstand a great deal of force.

The wide doors parted slowly. The dragon was forced inside. The doors closed much faster then they had opened; the dragon's tail nearly got caught between the thick titanium gates.

The slam of the doors echoed throughout the entire chamber. It was pitch black inside the room, until a single beam of light appeared were the crack of the doors was. The dragon slowly approached it. What was it? A way out? A method Cortex used to torment his captives? Or was it a tri-

Something cold and metallic hit the dragon in the back of her neck. It penetrated deep through her scales and into her soft, fragile flesh. Then something seemed to come into contact with her mind. A cold, heartless presence took over. Memories began to fade. Then there was only one thought on her mind.

Kill. Destroy. A merciless new goal took over her mind. Exterminate. She needed to eliminate something- correction: someone. But who-

The doors opened up again. Cortex, along with a few heavily armed Lab Assistants, approached the dragon. Cortex looked at her and calmly said,

"Subject 233, what is your purpose?"

His reply was cold and emotionless.

"My purpose is to kill Crash Bandicoot."

Chapter XI

Crash listlessly walked around the hut again. He had lost count of how many times he had done that today. Ten? Twenty? It didn't matter. He was not very good with numbers, or thinking, for that matter. Thinking was something more of a job for Coco.

Coco had been thinking for the past six hours now. She was good at that. However, she felt quite burned out. They needed a plan. But she couldn't think of anything.

Crunch paced back and forth, trying to help her with her plan.

"I saw we just barge in there and kick their butts!" He said.

"That isn't strategically practical," She replied. "Nor is it tactically advisable. Cortex's forces are just too numerous."

Aku Aku had been silent the whole time. He kept thinking to himself, _"Is this Uka Uka's work? Just another scheme he has cooked up? Or is it something more..."_

Crunch angrily kicked a piece of Wumpa fruit across the small pond in front of their hut.

"Standing here just talking about it won't get us anywhere. We need to take action, now!" He said, pounding his metal arm into the dirt to get his point across.

Crash had just completed another walk around the hut when he noticed something in they sky. He pointed, jabbering incoherently. Coco, Crunch and Aku all turned to the sky to see a demonic-looking silhouette speeding towards their position at a dangerously high speed. Crunch squinted as the shadow got even bigger, and closer. He saw a pair of huge, angry red eyes and two powerful wings. Then, a long, loud screech echoed throughout the entire island. Crash and the other bandicoots covered their furry ears, while all Aku Aku could do was wince at the horrible noise.

The silhouette grew clearer as it approached. Suddenly, it landed on four huge, clawed feet. Half of its face seemed to be covered in cybernetic parts.

Coco looked carefully at the creature. She recognized the scales, the wings, and the fiery red eyes... It was Eris, and she knew it. But there was one thing that she saw that was horribly wrong with her.

On the dragon's left ankle, there was a large bracelet with an "N" on it.

Coco suddenly realized that her observation had come precious seconds too late.


End file.
